...And the conversation somehow drifted to 'Al Tishali Oti'. Declared one blogger, "If I was the sabra, I wouldn't post so cryptically'. "If I was the sabra", said another, "I wouldn't use so many Hebrew & Yiddish words." Another blogger chimed in, "If I owned 'Al Tishali Oti', I would be more consistent with colors n content." "I wouldn't be sarcastic to commenters", muttered another, darkly. One blogger added not. "I have nothing to say, for 'To know the sabra is to be the sabra'."

Friday, January 24, 2014

The Mezritcher Maggid said, "Before Moshiach comes, there will be a repeat of the confrontation between Eliyahu HaNavi and the prophets of the Baal on Mount Carmel. However, unlike that match, when a fire miraculously descended from Above on to the mizbeiach of the prophets of HaShem, this time the fire will descend on the other side. And that will be the greatest test of all."

(כפר חב"ד גליון 418, דברי שמואל ע' מ)

The Chozeh of Lublin once said, "Before Moshiach arrives, it will be difficult for a Yid to hold on to his emuna. He will have to struggle to remain an upstanding Yid. It will be like climbing up a straight wall, grasping it with no more than pliers."

(ומביא גואל ע 35)

On his deathbed, Reb Volf of Zhitomir, a leading talmid of the Baal Shem Tov, shared with those around him what the future holds:

"Let it be known that there will be difficult times before Moshiachcomes. It will be possible for a person to eat at home on Yom Kippur R"L, and then show up at shul in a fancy carriage, and be honored withShishi or Maftir.

"Publicize this now, so that the Yidden living at that future time will know that many years earlier there lived a certain Reb Volf who predicted that state of affairs, and then they will not be overwhelmed and chas veshalom despair."

(לקו"ס פרלוב ע' רפ"ט)

In Tehillim, Dovid HaMelech yearns for HaShem: "My neshama thirsts for You... in a parched and weary land without water. So too, to see You in the holy [place]..."

In this possuk, the Baal Shem Tov saw how passionately Dovid HaMelech envied the yearning that Yidden would experience during the time of golus. Specifically in that state, when the neshama is far from HaShem, it yearns for Him. Halevai, Dovid HaMelech beseeches, that the neshama should similarly thirst for HaShem even when living in a state of holiness.

(הוספות לכש"ט אות ס"ד וש"נ)

Before he passed away, Moshe Rabbeinu was shown all the generations of the future. When he gazed upon our spiritually poor generation, whose comprehension of Elokus is close to nothing, and yet despite all of its difficulties Yidden in this generation fulfill Torah and mitzvos and daven with a chassidishe geshmak, with bitachon and simple emuna, he was so utterly overawed that he felt less worthy than them.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

We are trees, living two lives at once.
One life breaking through the soil into this world. Where, with all our might, we struggle to rise above it, grapple for its sun and its dew, desperate not to be torn away by the fury of its storms or consumed by its fires.
Then there are our roots, deep under the ground, unmoving and serene. They are our ancient mothers and fathers, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rivkah, Yaakov, Leah and Rachel.
They lie deep within us, at our very core. For them, there is no storm, no struggle. There is only the One, the Infinite, for Whom all the cosmos with all its challenges are nothing more than a fantasy renewed every moment from the void.
Our strength is from our bond with them, and with their nurture we will conquer the storm. We will bring beauty to the world we were planted within.

Our Holy forebears, the Rebbe'im through the generations, appealed to G-d and evoked Divine compassion toward their Chassidim, those bound to them. This was not all; they also had an avoda of bringing their Chassidim to mind, inwardly, pondering their affection and attachment to the Rebbe, reciprocating that affection and attachment. Bringing someone to mind has the effect of arousing that person's innermost powers. We see that when one looks deeply and intently at another he will turn around and return the glance, because the penetrating gaze awakens the core of the soul. Thought has the same effect. (Hayom Yom 14 Shevat)

"...I mention this particularly in reference to your inquiry regarding the Sabbath desecration which is perpetrated by the Jewish ocean liners. The claim that everything is done automatically during the 24 hours of the Sabbath is absurd, and I state it with the fullest authority, being an engineer myself and having studied marine mechanics. For one thing, certain machinery cannot be operated automatically, especially those connected with the steering, radio communications, services, and similar ones.

Secondly, even those machines which can operate automatically are required by their very operation, as well as by international law, to be checked periodically every few hours, which involves direct Sabbath desecration a corresponding number of times during the 24-hour period of the Sabbath.

What is a sabra?
A sabra is a form of cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica, that grows extensively in Israel.
The fruit of the sabra has a thick peel with a sharp spine and is covered in prickly thorns. Once the rough and deterring exterior is peeled away, however, you will reach the contrasting sweet pulp.
Authentic Israelis are often referred to as "sabras" because they tend to be outwardly tough and coarse, but once you get to know them they really are a soft, sweet and sensitive people.